WATERLOO, Ia. —U.S. Sen. Cory Booker launched his Iowa caucus campaign with a pledge to inspire Americans to stop fighting and start stitching the country back together.

“I’m running for president because I believe right now people are surrendering to cynicism about our ability to solve our problems,” the New Jersey Democrat told more than 200 voters in Waterloo Friday. “I believe that we are going to be a great nation, not because of what we’re against, but because of what we’re for, because of who we’re for. At this time in our country, we don’t need to fight fire with fire.”

Booker, who announced his presidential bid Feb. 1, made six Iowa stops on Friday and Saturday. Several hundred people traveled in Friday’s cold weather to see him in Mason City, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, and several hundred more showed up to see him Saturday in Marshalltown and Des Moines. They heard an upbeat message about the country’s potential, including its ability to fix its health care and criminal justice systems.

“We’re not in this because we want to beat up people or beat down people,” Booker said in Waterloo. “We want to help people and serve people. I tell Democrats all the time — I don’t want to bash Republicans. They’re Americans too.”

Booker, who played football at Stanford University and was mayor of Newark, N.J., told Iowans not to mistake his positive message as a sign of weakness. "There is nobody in this race tougher than me," he told voters in Marshalltown Saturday, after a woman asked what distinguished him from the crowded field of Democratic candidates.

"I"m a former PAC-10 football player. When I get on the field, I strap on my chin strap, and I come hard. But we have got to stop thinking in this country that to be tough you have to be mean," he said, drawing applause from scores of voters packed into the Iowa River Brewing Company.

Booker spent much of his time in Iowa taking questions from audience members and community leaders. He often leavened serious discussions with impromptu humor.

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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., takes selfies with the audience after a meet and greet at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, in Mason City, Iowa. Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., takes a question from Chris Petersen of Clear Lake during a meet and greet at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mason City Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Alyssa Bensson and her daughter Jersey, 9, listen to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., during a meet and greet at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mason City Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., takes a question from Chris Petersen of Clear Lake during a meet and greet at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mason City Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

Friday morning in Mason City, he drew about 100 people to a church basement. One man rose and began to ask Booker a question about independent family farms before interrupting himself to mention that his wife told him to tell the candidate “hello” from her.

“Keep talking, I’m just going to steal your phone,” Booker responded as the man continued talking, unfazed as the senator grabbed his cell phone.

“What’s your wife’s first name?” Booker asked, scrolling through the phone’s contact list and then contacting her via video.

“Hi Christy, it’s Cory Booker,” he said when he reached her. “Everybody say hello to Christy! I’m here with your husband. He passed on the ‘Hello.’”

The crowd laughed and applauded before Booker got back to work, addressing the man’s question about the influence of corporations on family farming in Iowa.

“I believe that we are all in this together — that what’s happened to the agriculture industry is hurting all of us,” Booker said. “It’s hurting our environment. It’s hurting our family farmer. It’s hurting the consumers. It’s hurting the American way. The very culture of our country is being eroded as towns and communities are being hollowed out by big, multinational corporations.”

Booker said he had introduced legislation that would put a moratorium on corporate consolidation in the agriculture sector.

“I’m a guy from Jersey, but I know we’re all in this together,” he said.

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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to a crowd of people gathered in the Kum & Go Theater on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in downtown Des Moines. This is Bookers first swing through Iowa after announcing he's running for president. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., takes a selfie with a man in the crowd after speaking to a group of people gathered in the Kum & Go Theater on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in downtown Des Moines. This is Bookers first swing through Iowa after announcing he's running for president. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to a crowd of people gathered in the Kum & Go Theater on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in downtown Des Moines. This is Bookers first swing through Iowa after announcing he's running for president. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to a crowd of people gathered in the Kum & Go Theater on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in downtown Des Moines. This is Bookers first swing through Iowa after announcing he's running for president. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks to a crowd of people gathered in the Kum & Go Theater on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, in downtown Des Moines. This is Bookers first swing through Iowa after announcing he's running for president. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

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The dog thing

At his Cedar Rapids event, the most surprising question came from 11-year-old Fayde Foens of Marion.

“Did you ever have a dog?” he asked. Fayde has two dogs, Dash and Star, and he wanted to know if the senator was like him.

The question drew chuckles from the audience of more than 200 people at the African American Museum of Iowa.

But the senator gave Fayde a straight answer: He doesn’t have a dog right now, because he travels so much. He said he loves animals and has pushed to pass laws to protect them. He wants to get a dog if he moves into the White House.

“If I become president of the United States, would you help me get a dog?” he asked the boy, drawing cheers from the audience.

Fayde Foens, 11, went with his father, Scott, to see Sen. Cory Booker speak in Cedar Rapids Friday. Fayde raised his hand and asked Booker if he has a dog. The presidential candidate said he doesn't have one now. "If I become president of the United States, will you help me get a dog?" Booker asked, drawing cheers from the audience.(Photo: Tony Leys/Des Moines Register)

A campaign staff member later sat down with Fayde and took down his name and phone number, so Booker could check in with him about the dog if the time comes.

Fayde’s father, Scott Foens, said afterward he was impressed with the candidate — and not just because of the dog thing.

Foens, 54, who is a project manager for the city of Cedar Rapids, said Booker is a talented speaker with a great command of facts and a rapport with his audience.

“Not only that, he’s authentic,” Foens said. He thinks that will resonate well with voters. “A lot of people don’t necessarily need someone who agrees with them 100 percent of the time, but they want someone who will listen to them,” he said.

He added that Booker hasn’t won his support yet, “but he’s at the top of the leader board,” with California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in a distant second.

Booker told reporters that he intends to campaign heavily in Iowa. He noted his grandmother was raised in Des Moines, and other relatives once moved from Alabama to the Iowa coal-mining town of Buxton.

“I just love Iowa. I have since I was a little kid," he said. "…I plan on crisscrossing this state. Nobody’s going to work harder in the state of Iowa than I will.”

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